The shout came up from the New Orleans Hornets bench with
just more than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

"Green! Green!" the code for five seconds remaining on the
24-second shot clock.

With the Hornets holding a nine-point lead over the resurgent
Sacramento Kings, just the second time the Kings had the disadvantage to single
digits in the period, point guard Greivis Vasquez heeded the exhortation,
stopped in his tracks 27 feet from the basket, and let fly a jumper.

It found the bottom of the net with 2:10 to go, giving the
Hornets a 12-point lead as they held off a furious Sacramento rally for a
114-105 victory Monday afternoon in New Orleans Arena.

"I was going to hit a 3 regardless," Vasquez said afterward.
"I came out of the game and came right back and said, 'I've got to be a better
leader.' Most of the time, this game is mental. That's why guys in the NBA have
to play with confidence. Because when you play with confidence, it's all
mental. You feel that you can do things you never thought you could do.

New Orleans Hornets Anthony Davis (left) sprained his left ankle when he stepped on an official's foot in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings on Monday afternoon.AP Photo/Stacy Revere

"That was a long 3, but I was going to take it, because in
my mind, it was going in. I'm sure Monty (Williams) is telling you guys,
'Greivis' shot selection is terrible.' And I've got to get better at that. But
it went in."

It was just one of 89 field-goal attempts the Hornets took
on Monday, but that 3-ball was arguably as big as any of Ryan Anderson's seven
made 3s, or any of Eric Gordon's six made shots.

It took the wind out of Sacramento's furious second-half
rally that whittled what was a 25-point first-half lead to seven with just less
than three minutes to go.

"We did a good job of getting back in the game," said Kings
Coach Keith Smart, "but at the end, Greivis hit about a 30-foot shot that
really hurt us. It was just too big a hole for us to dig out of."

Sacramento outscored the Hornets 37-23 in the third quarter,
closing the period on a 21-7 run as the Hornets played the entire second half
without starting power forward Anthony Davis.

Davis, who had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocked
shots in 15 minutes, stepped on an official's foot near the end of the first
half and twisted his left ankle, the same one that caused Davis to miss 12
games earlier this season with a stress reaction.

He predicted afterward that he'd be back for Wednesday
night's game at the San Antonio Spurs, though his status was scheduled to be
further evaluated Monday night.

Anderson, however, was feeling it in Davis' absence, scoring
17 second-quarter points, including five from beyond the arc and finishing the
game with a team-high 27.

"We were playing great basketball, especially on the defensive
end," Anderson said, "and it really led to some easy buckets. Great defense
translated into a run and we were really able to take advantage of our speed
and quickness. It really opened up the floor for me."

That helped the Hornets to a season-high 64 points in the
first half as it appeared New Orleans would coast to victory No. 14 at the
precise midway point of the season, game No. 41.

The Kings, jolted overnight by the news that team owners the
Maloof brothers had agreed to sell the club to a group of Seattle investors
who'll move the team to the Pacific Northwest next season and rebrand under the
dormant SuperSonics name, had other ideas.

Playing in a noon start though their body clocks are
adjusted to West Coast time, the Kings started sluggishly and really didn't
seem to respond to their body's internal alarm clocks until halftime

"In fact," Smart said after the game, "I think mine just
went off."

While the Hornets managed to stifle Sacramento's offense in
the first half, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins scored 21 of his game-high 29 in
the second half, including 12 in the third quarter, in sparking the comeback.

"We've got to come out there ready to play," Cousins said.
"Giving them that 25-point lead, 20-point lead, that put us behind and we were
playing catch-up the rest of the game. If we came out early with energy, we
probably wouldn't have been in that situation."

New Orleans got another solid effort out of Vasquez (19
points, 11 assists, seven rebounds) as well as small forward Al-Farouq Aminu
(14 points, 11 rebounds).

Vasquez's jumper with 58.7 to go in the third quarter put an
end to a 17-0 Sacramento run.

"Al-Farouq is the guy that has played inside of his box and
made himself look really good, but he has made our team look even better,"
Williams said. "His ability to rebound, to play with energy, he's starting to
talk more on the floor when we need someone to step up and lead he's starting
to say some things.

"I have not been tougher on anybody since I've been here
other than he and Greivis, and maybe Chris Paul. Those three guys have really
gotten the brunt of my coaching iron."

The Hornets have now won seven of their last nine games as
they head to San Antonio to face the Spurs for the final time this season with a
solidified starting unit that has been on the floor together since the outset
of that stretch.

"I think I just found my niche on this team and found where
I could help this team out," said Aminu, who has grabbed 95 rebounds in the
last nine games. "I respect that Coach wants me to get better. He used to be a
player himself. He expects a lot out of myself, as well. He just wants the most
out of all his players."